Pam and I are part of an impressive line-up of instructors, including Nigel Calder, Lee Chesneau, George Day, Herb McCormick, Gary Jobson, Cindy Wallach, Liza Copeland, John Martino, Jim Drury and many others.

You can attend the 3-day Cruising Preparation series, the 4-day Master Cruisers series, or the 1-day Cruisers Education series. There will be both classroom and on-board classes. There are technical series of classes covering diesel maintenance, electrical systems and modern navigation, plus cruising destination series (Bahamas, Caribbean, etc), and many individual seminars.

Pam and I thoroughly enjoyed Cruisers University last year and are excited to be back again this year. The energy and enthusiasm in the seminar rooms is contagious and our discussions are always lively and in-depth.

Cruisers University catches attendees at a crucial point: the men and women attending have a dream to go cruising but it is still an uncertain dream. Over the course of the weekend, they learn so much that the dream becomes a shared plan, and attendees leave eager and prepared to make their dream a reality. I love being able to contribute to that transformation. And what better place for it all to begin in than in Annapolis, truly a sailor’s town and home of the big Fall Annapolis Boat Show!

Here are the seminars I will be giving at Cruisers University:

Provisioning and Storage Strategies

Friday, April 27: 1:45-3:00pm
Saturday, April 28: 1:45-3:00pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

Provisioning, trivial ashore, becomes a key skill for successful cruising. We will discuss provisioning from start to finish, beginning with factors that affect what you will (and won’t) want to take: where you plan to cruise, how you cruise, your eating and entertaining style, your boat, storage space and equipment (eg. refrigeration and freezer space or lack of). Avoiding LOB (lost on board) – strategies and systems for organizing, stowing, and inventorying (manual, computerized, and app-based). Preserving what you have aboard (vacuum sealing, drying, storage containers and systems). Reprovisioning in foreign countries: making use of local products, major reprovisioning areas, duty-free areas, shipping parts and supplies in, what you can get where. Plus lots of useful handouts and downloads to help you get started including provisioning lists of food, supplies and spares, multilingual reprovisioning lists, etc.

What Works: Tips and Techniques for Long-Distance Cruising

Saturday, April 28: 8:00-9:15am

Instructors: Kathy Parsons and Pam Wall

Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference. With decades of cruising and tens of thousands of miles under their keels, circumnavigator Pam Wall and Caribbean/Bahamas cruiser Kathy Parsons have learned lots of little things that make cruising safer, more comfortable, more successful. In this seminar, they will share some of their favourite tips, techniques and gear. You
are bound to learn many new ideas to plan for and improve your cruising! Here are some of the
areas they discuss:

Attendees will receive the extensive, illustrated “What Works handout” detailing and illustrating the tips covered in the seminar.

Tips for Women Cruisers

Saturday, April 28: 9:30am-10:45am

Instructors: Kathy Parsons and Pam Wall

How do you navigate through the thousands of questions you face as you prepare to go cruising?
By talking to experienced cruising women who have “been there” and are eager to share what has worked for them. We will answer your questions about cruising – from skills, attitudes, common fears and roles aboard, to outfitting, planning for departure and dealing with home and possessions, passage-making, safety, provisioning, seasickness, communication, finances, health and life afloat. Attendees will receive an extensive handout full of tips and resources to help you plan and to make the most of the material covered in the seminar.

The Bahamas: Cruising the Exumas

Saturday, April 28 12:30-1:3pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

The Exuma island chain is the favorite part of the Bahamas for many cruisers. Many return year after year while others visit the Exumas as they island hop down to the Caribbean. The Exumas offer hundreds of beautiful white sand beaches, excellent diving and fi shing, many small friendly Bahamian settlements, and gorgeous anchorages. In this seminar, we will cover everything you need to know to plan a cruise to the Bahamas. Attendees will receive a handout with resources, lists of charts and cruising guides, provisioning information, transformation recommendations, weather services – all you’ll need to know for cruising the Bahamas.

The Exuma island chain is the favorite part of the Bahamas for many cruisers. Many return year after year while others visit the Exumas as they island hop down to the Caribbean. The Exumas offer hundreds of beautiful white sand beaches, excellent diving and fishing, many small friendly Bahamian settlements, and gorgeous anchorages. In this seminar, we will cover everything you need to know to plan a cruise to the Bahamas. Topics covered include:

An overview of the Exumas: where to go and how to sail the chain

How to get to the Exumas: sailing routes from the US. Clearing into the Bahamas

The best charts and cruising guides

Weather: the best weather sources for sailing the Bahamas, as well as how weather patterns in each season determine how you sail the Exumas

Attendees will receive a handout with resources, lists of charts and cruising guides, provisioning information, etc.

The Well-Found Galley

Sunday, April 29 11:00am-12:15pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

The galley is the heart of every cruising boat. It is the one part of the boat that gets used every day whether at sea or in port. This seminar will help you make the most of your galley. We will discuss everything from layout to refrigeration, from dishes, to pressure cookers and other equipment. You will receive handouts listing gear that cruising women consider essential aboard (and what they took off their boats!), and the things learned along the way that make cooking aboard and provisioning easier, safer, and more enjoyable.

If you are in the process of shopping for a boat, you will learn what to look for and what your main decision points in the prospective galley should be (including a checklist of considerations). If you are preparing to go cruising, you will learn how to equip your galley, what’s worth packing and what you can leave behind. And if you are already out cruising, you will enjoy seeing how others do things and pick up new tips.

* Friday, April 27 – Cruising World Magazine – “Making A Boat A Home”

Pam Wall and I are both participating (among others) in the Cruising World sponsored Luncheon Program: “Making A Boat A Home”